Two friends who found jewellery discarded by the River Kennet in South Reading were later spotted selling it in a town centre gold shop.

Matthew Haylett and Andrew Clarridge were seen by police officers on the riverside path the day after a nearby house had been burgled.

Both were sentenced for handling stolen goods at a hearing at Reading Crown Court on Friday.

The duo had been due to stand trial for burglary on December 5, 2012, which they denied, but they admitted a charge of handling which was accepted by the Crown.

The court heard the house in Elgar Road had been broken into on January 31, 2012 while the owners were away. When the home owners returned they confirmed a number of items of jewellery had gone missing.

Michael Riley, prosecuting, told the court both defendants were spotted by police walking along the Kennet the next day.

Haylett, 20, was seen picking something up and when police went back to the spot later they found a small box containing items from the burgled house.

Later, plain-clothed police watched the duo in a second-hand gold shop in the Harris Arcade.

Mr Riley said: “Mr Haylett showed the owner a bracelet and said his grandmother had given it to him. He was offered £150 and he asked for £160.” Both defendants were later arrested and the bracelet was recovered.

The court heard Clarridge, 36, had a history of burglary and handling offences, as did Haylett who had been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in a Young Offenders Institute (YOI) for burglary in August last year.

John Simmons, defending Haylett, said: “He was effectively destitute and had no ID to get support from the state. He saw these opportunities arise and took the extremely immature route trying to realise money from criminal behaviour.”

Richard Moss, defending Clarridge, said his client was very much a secondary participant in the venture. He said Clarridge had recently lost access to his children because of his criminal behaviour.

Judge Ian Grainger sentenced Haylett, of Shinfield Road, South Reading, to 24 weeks detention in a YOI, to run concurrent with his existing sentence.

Clarridge, of Frensham Green, Lower Earley, was sentenced to a 12-month community order under supervision with a requirement to attend a thinking skills programme.